Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 54: Wrath of the Librarian
"Does he have to bury everything?" Blake asked annoyed when some dirt hit her in the face.
"I honestly don't know." I answered watching Courage dig yet another ten-foot-deep hole.
We were in the back of the farmhouse. Blake was with us this time. Yang, Ruby and Qrow had left to Patch. Currently, we were helping Courage find something. What the thing was still remains to be seen. But it could be anything as Courage does have a habit of burying anything he finds. And then losing it almost immediately.
'Huh?' Courage asked curious. Looking over to him, we saw that he was holding a moldy sandwich that had mushrooms growing on it.
"Why would you bury a sandwich?" Blake asked mystified.
'Never know when you need a snack.' Courage answered looking the sandwich. 'Think it's still good?
"I don't know. Give it a try." I answered. Courage shrugged before taking a bite of it. Only to turn a slight shade of green before spitting it out immediately.
'YUCK!' Courage said disgusted.
"What made you think a moldy sandwich would taste good?" Blake asked snickering. Courage merely rolled his eyes before going back to digging. All the while having a smile on his face.
"So, how's life back at Beacon?" I asked Blake.
"Fine. For the most part. Yang and Ruby are still annoying with their pranks. But the worst part is Ozpin." She answered.
"How so?" I asked curious.
"Ozpin still believes your girlfriend is a maiden. And he is still trying to find a way to either get to her or capture her. But he won't get far as Glynda keeps sabotaging his and Ironwoods attempts." She explained.
"Ah. Well. That's good. How's the White fang?" I asked. Looking over to Courage, we saw him pull out a strange device that sort of looked like a satellite. He then turned a dial a few times and letting go of the device a second later. The satellite beeped a few times before floating and going up into the sky. Presumably into space where it belonged.
"Been pretty good. My dad managed to already change how many people view the white fang. And many new rights are already being considered." She answered with a forced smile.
"But I'm sensing something." I told her. She hesitated for a moment before sighing.
"Yeah. Despite the progress, it strained relations back home. And by that, I mean relations with my mother and me." She explained.
"Lots of fighting I presume." I said.
"Lots of fighting. Almost all the time my mom and dad are fighting." She said upset.
"Well, I do hope everything works out. And if you ever need someone to lend an ear. I'm here." I told her.
"Thanks, Jaune." She said smiling.
'Huh? What's this?' Courage asked getting our attention. Turning to him, we saw him holding an old looking book.
"Why would you bury a book?" Blake asked irked that he buried a book.
'I don't remember.' Courage answered examining the book.
"What's the name of the book?" I asked.
'The Pixie and the Prickle Pirate.' He answered reading the title.
"Never heard of that book before." Blake said as she grabbed the book.
"Does it seem like it would be a good read?" I asked curious.
"I would say so. Plot seems interesting." Blake answered skimming through the book. Hearing some footsteps, we looked up and saw Muriel walking up to us.
"Courage." Muriel gasped. "I thought you returned that to the library ages ago."
'Ha, ha.' Courage laughed nervously.
"Oh, my." Muriel said worried taking the book from Blake.
"What is it, Muriel?" Blake asked.
"This book is due two years ago next Tuesday." She answered. "It's a wonder we haven't all been arrested and sent to library prison."
"That is a long time since it's been due. We better return it right away." I said amazed at how long ago the book was due.
"Right now, in fact." Blake said as she took the book back from Muriel.
"We'll be bac later." I told Muriel as we began to head for the library.
Half an Hour Later
"Here we are." I said as we approached the library. An interesting note about this one was that while it seemed stationary as evident by the statues, it was actually mobile and moves quite frequently.
'Hopefully the late fee isn't too much.' Courage hoped.
"I seriously doubt that." Blake said as we reached the front desk. Only to be slightly startled when the librarian suddenly opened the window shutters as soon as we got near.
'AAHHH!' Courage shrieked.
"SHH!" The librarian shushed before extending her hand. We then gave her the book which she took without a word.
Courage then began to try and explain himself but was shushed again by the librarian. She looked in the back of the book to see the due date. She then pushed a button on the register. A ding was heard followed by a sound coming from above us. Looking up, we saw a bar above our head that showed us the overdue fee.
"Three thousand nine hundred and seventy-two dollars and forty-three cents!" Blake nearly shouted at seeing the late fee. Only to be shushed immediately by the librarian. "Do you have any near that amount Jaune?"
"No. How about you Courage?" I answered before asking him. Ignoring the librarian shushing me.
'Oh.' Courage whined as he took out everything from his pockets. Only to show that he had a few marbles, a centipede for some reason, a dirty lollipop and a single cent. He then placed them on the counter only for the librarian to smack them away. She then pointed up the late fee sign which went up by about twenty bucks.
'Return what you owe or you owe and owe and owe.' The lion statues next to us suddenly said coming alive before going still again.
'AAHHHH!' Courage screamed in terror with his eyes popping out of his head.
'Better get out of here.' I thought worried. And it seemed that the others thought the same as we all immediately ran away from the angry librarian. But as we ran away, we heard the librarian shush something or someone again. But we didn't look back and kept running back to the house.
Half an hour Later
I never thought I would be the one running away from a library because of an overdue fee." Blake said annoyed as we neared the house.
'Sorry.' Courage said nervously.
"I bet this happens to Yang and Ruby all the time." I said trying to ease the mood.
"That is, if they even pick up a book. Which I doubt they would even consider." Blake said chuckling a bit as we reached the house.
'OOF!' Courage exclaimed as he fell over.
"You okay Courage?" I asked.
'Fine. Just tripped over something.' He answered as he picked himself up.
"Hey. I thought we left the book at the library. How did it get back here?" Blake asked showing us that what tripped Courage was the book we just returned.
"The librarian must have used a spell or something to send it back to us. And the only way we can get rid of it is to pay the fee." I surmised.
"And how do you expect to raise that much money Jaune?" Blake asked. Reminding me that it was a couple thousand dollars the fee.
'We can scrounge up the money.' Courage said entering the house. Confused, we followed him inside and saw him taking out his piggy bank and smashing it open with a giant hammer. Only for nothing to come out.
"Oh, your back. How did it go?" Muriel asked entering the living room.
"Not good. We need to pay back the fee to be able to return the book." I answered.
"Oh, my. Let me see how much I have." She said before heading up the stairs.
"How much do you have Jaune?" Blake asked as we headed inside and sat down on the couch.
"A couple hundred in spare change in the bank. Another handful here in the house. I have more in another account but that is in case of strict emergencies." I answered.
"We're going to need to find a way to get the money and quickly." Blake said eying the book that mysteriously popped up again next to Courage. Hearing some footsteps, we looked up and saw Muriel returning with an old worn sock. Followed closely by Eustace who was looking at the money greedily.
"Courage. I don't think it's much. But it's all the savings I got." Muriel said pulling out a few dollars and coins.
"If the dog has to pay a book fine. He has to earn the money his own self." Eustace bitterly said. He then reached and tried to take Muriel's money away. But Blake stopped.
"That's not yours." She growled before pushing him away. She then gave the money back to Muriel. Eustace growled at being denied the money before heading back to his chair.
"Eustace. We should really help the poor dear. He's in this way over his head." Muriel told him.
"That's what you get for reading books. T.V is free." Eustace mocked before turning the television on.
"Guess that explains why he can never fix anything or make anything grow." Blake said glaring at Eustace.
"I'm a farmer. I got a green thumb. And I can too fix stuff." Eustace growled out trying not to let it show that we hit a soft spot.
"Well, if we still have the book, we might as well enjoy it." Muriel said picking up the book. She then began to flip through the book but stopped when she got a paper cut from it. "OH!"
"And T.V. don't give you papercuts neither." Eustace said walking up to Muriel He then tried to grab the book but dropped it when it gave him a papercut as well. "AH! STUPID SHARP BOOK!"
'You owe and owe and owe and owe and owe and owe and owe...' We heard the lions from earlier said as the book rapidly went through the pages by itself.
"That can't be good." Blake said worried.
"I feel odd." Muriel suddenly said. Turning to her, we saw that she was slightly hunched over and holding her head.
"Maybe you should sit down Muriel." I told her as I went up to her.
"Me too." Eusatce said as well. Looking over, we saw that he seemed ready to faint as he could barely stand straight.
'EEEHHH!' Courage whined in fear and suspense at what was happening.
Then Eustace started groaning in pain. And to our great surprise he tuned into a green monster. A pirate hat was on his head along with his right arm being a spiked club now. Some spikes were also growing on his back. Yet as we saw this, we could not help but feel that we saw him before.
"ARG! Spikes and spines. Spines and spikes. A prickle of pixies. A pixie I likes." Eustace declared while brandishing his giant spiked club.
"Um, what just happened?" Blake asked trying not to faint. Hearing some dinging come from behind us, we turned and saw that Courage was now being rang like some bell by two small figures with hammers. And I could have sworn that we heard some man yodeling as well.
"Ha, ha, ha." We heard Muriel laugh. Turning to her, we her grab her clothes before tearing them off and revealing feathers underneath. And her skin suddenly changing to blue as well. She then put on a crown of flowers and began hopping up and down in place. She then jumped onto Eustace's chair.
"MURIEL!" Blake and I shouted in shock.
"I am the pixie. The pixie am I. I'm a blip. I'm a blur. I'm a blink of the eye." Muriel declared before jumping from the chair. Presumably trying to fly away. Only to land hard on the floor as she didn't have any wings.
'Ah.' Courage suddenly said. Looking over to him, we saw that he was in so much of a shock, that his head became a geyser shooting out pink liquid from his head.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Blake shouted losing her cool.
"Pickels and prickles. Prickles and sticks. I spy the pixie. Come here little pix." Eustace said trying to get Muriel to come over to him. But all she did was shake her head while the sound of birds chirping surrounded her. This enraged Eustace. "WHAT!? ARGH!"
"OOH!" Muriel gasped when Eustace shot the spikes from his club towards Muriel. She thankfully managed to dodge the spikes followed by laughing at Eustace.
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted as I pushed Blake to side in time for the spikes to miss us.
'AH!' Courage gasped when the spikes surrounded him. Muriel then hopped around the living room.
"ARGH!" Eustace growled as he chased her.
Muriel then proceeded to essentially break everything by jumping on it. First the television followed by the Eustace's chair. All the while Eustace trying to strike her with his club. The final time he tried, Muriel dodged out of the way which caused him to hit the railing of the stairs which caused his club to get stuck. Muriel then giggled as he hopped out of the living room and towards the kitchen quickly followed by Eustace.
"Well, that just happened." I said not believing what I just saw. And that is saying something considering what Courage and I faced before.
'What do you think could have caused this?' Courage asked.
"The only thing I can think of is the book. As the both received a paper cut from it before turning into a pixie and an abomination." Blake answered.
"So, that's why they looked familiar." I said snapping my fingers.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"The book turned Muriel and Eustace in the characters from the story." I explained.
"Well, whatever it may be, we best be careful with that book otherwise we get turned into characters from the book as well." Blake said.
At this, Courage put on a giant rubber glove before picking up the book. We then went into the kitchen hoping to find Muriel. Which we thankfully did as she was dancing on top of the fridge. She then gracefully jumped from the fridge onto the table.
"Flying fairy friends. Come with me fairies. We'll flit and we'll fly. We'll trickle that pickle. Just us. Come and fly fairy friends." Muriel said giggling and dancing.
"We'd rather not." Blake said unsure how to actually answer. But before either of us could say anything else, Muriel jumped form the table before jumping through the window and leaving the farm.
"Great. Now we have to find her." I said slightly annoyed. We were about to exit the house but stopped when Eustace suddenly barged though the doors.
"Spike, the cactus boy. It's you. And me first mate and his girlfriend." Eustace shouted laughing manically.
"I'm not his girlfriend." Blake corrected which Eustace ignored.
"Come with me. We'll spike that old pix. Bring you best trouble and treacherous tricks." Eustace said before running to the other side of the kitchen. And the jumping through the wall of the kitchen before leaving the farm as well.
"Well, um. Yeah." I said not sure what to make of what just happened.
'We better go after them to make sure Eustace doesn't hurt Muriel.' Courage told us.
We nodded before exiting the house using the door. Looking around, we quickly spotted the shrinking form of Eustace. Running after them, we followed them down the road until eventually into town. Yet, despite us essentially being on their tails, we quickly lost sight of them after a few minutes.
"Where did they go?" I asked looking around.
"And why is everyone gathered around here?" Blake asked noticing the large crowd of people gathered here that were cheering for some reason.
'UP THERE!' Courage shouted pointing to the theater. Looking to where he was pointing, we saw Muriel standing above the theater sign.
"And then we'll all flitter and flutter so free. We'll all be pixies. Pixies we'll be." Muriel declared dancing on the sign. Yet, looking at the sign, I noticed something
"Return the book." I said pointing to the sign.
"Easier said than done because of the fee." Blake said annoyed.
'Think the librarian did this?' Courage asked.
"Most likely. But we can worry about her later. We need to get Muriel down from there before she hurts herself." I answered. Courage nodded before going up to the wall and began to climb. But as he got near, he stopped when a cannonball nearly struck him.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Blake shouted in surprise.
"HA, HA!" We heard Eustace laughed behind us. Turning around, we saw that he somehow got his hands on a working cannon and dozens of cannonballs.
"Of, course. It had to be him." Blake said even more annoyed. Looking back, we saw Eustace load another cannonball. This time aimed for Muriel exactly.
"COURAGE! GET MURIEL DOWN FROM THERE!" I shouted to him worried.
'AH!' Courage gasped before hurrying up and luckily getting Muriel out of the way in time.
"Oh, thank Oum." I said relived. Yet despite what just happened, the crowd started cheering.
'How do I get down?' Courage asked. Looking around, we saw a random string that he could use.
"Grab that string and swing down." Blake shouted. Courage nodded and proceeded to do so while holding onto Muriel. He then leapt off towards the ground. But unfortunately, while Muriel landed on the ground safely and began to hop around, Courage kept on going until he hit a pole.
"OOH!" Blake and I winced in pain when Courage hit the pole and proceeded to slide down hitting the metal parts of the pole.
'Ha, ha.' Courage laughed with his eye and tongue sticking out.
"That's gotta hurt." I said as we raced over to him. But as we reached him, so did Muriel.
"There, fairy friend. Have you forgotten? We know how to fly." Muriel said smiling before hopping away.
"I got you Courage." I said as I helped him up and put his eye and tongue back inside him.
'Thanks.' Courage said before shaking himself off.
"Hey Jaune. Isn't that Dr. Vindaloo?" Blake asked. Looking up, I saw that it was indeed Dr. Vindaloo. And he seemed to be putting up posters for some reason.
"Yeah, he is. Wonder what he is doing though." I answered.
'Maybe he could help.' Courage said before running towards Dr. Vindaloo.
"I doubt that." Blake said as we ran after him.
"You sick?" Dr. Vindaloo asked when we reached him.
"No. But Muriel is and is acting strange. Really strange." I answered.
"Hmm. Let me have a look at her and see if there is anything I can do. Anything at all." He told us before heading in the direction that Muriel went.
"Think he can actually do anything Jaune? As I seriously doubt, he even has a degree in any medical field." Blake asked.
"No. But the worse he can do or say is that he can do nothing at all." I answered.
"SPIKE! FIRST MATE!" We heard Eustace shout startling us.
'EEHHH!' Courage shrieked in fear.
"Sharpen my prickles." He told us while giving us a filer.
'Better make sure they are flat rather than sharp.' I thought as I filed the tips so they were flat.
"To capture that pixie. We'll take to the sea. Where pixies and salt air don't ever agree." Eustace declared.
"OW!" Courage and I shouted when Eustace's club hit us when he raised it into the air. Shaking it off, we got up. But as we did, we heard some bells ringing. Looking towards it, we saw that it was an ice-cream bike vendor.
"That's my ship." Eustace said pointing to the guy. He then grabbed all of us. "Go get it!"
"AAHHH!" We all screamed as we flew through the air. Blake and I landed in the ice cream while Courage hit the guy knocking him off. With the hat the guy wearing flying off before landing on Courage's head.
"Gross." Blake said as she felt sticky and was covered in ice-cream. "I'm going to need a bath after this."
"Same." I agreed. But looking down, I saw something that I knew Blake liked. "Taiyaki?"
"Ooh. Thanks." Blake said as she began to almost immediately devour the treat. But as soon as she finished it, Eustace jumped onto the container. Inadvertently causing more ice cream to hit us in the face,
"AFTER THE PIXIE!" He shouted while pointing with his club. Looking to where he was pointing, we saw that it was Muriel and Dr. Vindaloo in a tree.
'EEEHHH!' Courage shouted in fear. He then began to pedal the bike towards them. But didn't see the bump that caused Eustace to go flying off. And land hard on his spiked club.
"OW! Spikey, I don't likey." Eustace shouted at us.
"WATCH OUT COURAGE!" Blake suddenly shouted. Turning around, we saw that we were heading straight for the tree.
'AAHHH!' Courage shouted and tried to stop. But couldn't in time and we ended up hitting the tree.
"Ow." Blake and I said in pain.
"AAHHH!" We heard Muriel and Dr. Vindaloo scream before they fell and landed in the ice cream with us.
"Fairy friends." Muriel said popping back out with two ice cream cones on her head. Soon, Dr. Vindaloo popped back out as well with a half-eaten ice cream.
"You are right she is out of. There is nothing I can do. Nothing at all." Dr. Vindaloo told us. He then turned to Muriel. "I'll see you in fairy land."
"And now he's insane as well." I said as we watched Dr. Vindaloo hop away while singing.
'AH!' Courage gasped. Turning around, we saw that Muriel left the cart and was now heading for a bill board sign which she easily began to climb.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Eustace shouted as he ran past us and chased after Muriel.
"Come on" I said as we got out of the cart and ran after them. Yet, as we reached the bill board, we noticed that the crowd from earlier had also arrived and were cheering as they watched Eustace and Muriel fight each other.
'What are we going to do?' Courage whined.
"We're going to return the book and end this madness." Blake answered.
"But we have to find her first." I reminded her.
'Over there.' Courage said. Looking over to where he was pointing, we saw that the librarian was nearby.
"Convenient." I said as we raced over to the librarian.
'Help. Help.' Courage shouted as he began to tell the librarian what happened. Only to be shushed by her. She then pointed to the overdue fee sign which showed that the fee had increased to seven thousand two hundred and seventy-nine dollars and forty-three cents.
"Damn. Any ideas on how to pay that fee?" Blake asked shocked at how the fee was quickly going up. At this, we heard the crowd from before cheering. Turning around, we saw the crowd cheering as they watched Eustace and Muriel continue to fight. This time on the cable wires.
"I have an idea." I said and I could tell Courage had the same idea as his head turned into a forty-watt light bulb.
We then rushed into the theater and coming out a moment later with a large red curtain. We then went over to the crowd and began climb one of the poles. Then we slid down the wire with the curtain to effectively block the crowds view of the fight. They began to boo at being denied to see the fight. Climbing back down, we went to the side where there was an abandoned booth which we could use to get the money. We then tuned too Blake and smiled.
"What?" Blake asked looking at us confused.
Five Minutes Later
"Step right up. Step right up." I shouted as I twirled the cane in my hand. Courage and I were both in suits that we saw some salesmen wear before.
'And see the pixie fight the prickle pirate.' Courage continued while spinning his hat.
"Tickets are one hundred dollars." Blake finished pouting and annoyed as she wore the same outfit.
"HERE! TAKE OUT MONEY!" The crowd shouted all at once as they surrounded the booth.
"Thank you. Thank you." I said as Blake and I took the stacks of money while Courage gave each person a ticket. Soon everyone had a ticket before moving away from the booth.
"That was widely successful" I said surprised as I gathered all the money while Courage pulled the strig so that curtain moved so the crowd can continue watching the fight.
"Never make me do that again." Blake huffed as she slammed her hat on me.
'Come on. Let's go pay that fee.' Courage said as he took the money and went over to the librarian. Taking off the hat, we quickly followed him.
"Here." I said as Courage gave her the money.
"Now will you take the book back?" Blake asked while Courage tried to tell her about what happened to Muriel and Eustace. Only to be shushed again. She then placed the money on a weight scale.
"Yes." I said happily that we raised ten thousand dollars. Enough to cover the fee.
'Now Muriel and Eusatce.' Courage began pointing to the book. Yet to our confusion, the librarian shushed us before pointing to the late fee. And to our irritation, it showed that we owed nearly one million dollars.
"WHAT!" Blake shouted in shock and anger.
"HOW DID IT INCREASE TAHT MUCH IN A FEW HOURS!" I shouted in anger as well.
'THAT'S NOT FAIR FOR A BOOK THAT CUASED THIS MUCH TROUBLE!' Courage shouted before slamming the counter with the book. Normally, I would tell him not to do that yet this time I let it go as it changed the fee counter to a more reasonable price.
"Either of you have a single cent?" I asked. The fee changed from nearly a million to ten thousand dollars and one cent.
"I have a few lien but I don't think she would accept that." Blake answered.
'Just some useless junk.' Courage answered showing the centipede, marbles and lollipop. Looking down, I saw something from the corner of my eye.
"Courage. What's on your foot?" I asked. He looked down and smiled. He grabbed it off his foot to reveal that it was a penny with some gum on it. He began to lick it off before tossing the penny onto the money pile. The overdue sign began to show a paid in full sign.
"Yes." We all cheered that we finally paid the fee. But got startled when the lion statues suddenly spoke again.
'You have returned. And paid what you owe.' They said before going still again. The librarian took the book before opening it to the back and stamping it to show that it was successfully paid.
"Okay. None that is done. Let's go check on Muriel and Eustace." I told them.
"Um, where did they go?" Blake asked. Turning around, we saw that both the crowd and Muriel and Eustace were gone. Luckily, we heard the faint sound of the crowd nearby.
'Over there.' Courage said before leading us over to the zoo. Looking around, we saw the crowd gathered around a cage.
"Excuse us." I said as we made our way to the front. And nearly screamed at what we saw.
"HEE, HEE, HEE." Muriel laughed as she swung her legs to avoid Eustace's spiked club. All the while hanging from the branch on the tree. Eustace was next to her growling while holding the mouth of giant snake open.
"OH!" Eustace gasped in confusion as he and Muriel changed back to normal.
"Eustace! What are you doing?" Muriel asked.
"Dang if I know woman. What are you doing?" He answered before asking.
Only to then realize the snake he was holding when I hissed at him. He screamed and tried to stop the snake from closing its mouth. But failed. He tried to run away but the snake managed to bite his ass and rip off some of his clothes. Eustace than ran away and through the cage. All the while the crowd continued to laugh at him. Walking around the cage, we opened the door before stepping into the cage. Courage then jumped into Muriel's arms.
"OOH!" Muriel gasped hugging Courage. She then pulled me into a hug as well which I gladly accepted.
"Aw." Blake said smiling at us while the crowd clapped in joy as well. Yet, everything went quiet when the librarian came out of the snake's mouth and shushed them.
"Well. I'm not sure what happened or how I'd get here. But how about we get some ice cream and enjoy the day here." Muriel suggested. We smiled before nodding and exiting the cage.
Note:
(1) Thousand years of Courage with Sun and Neptune. (2) Courage meets the Mummy with Ruby. (3) The Transplant with Terra, Saphron and Adrian. (4) McPhearsome Phantom with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (5) Aqua Farmer with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (6) Food of the dragon with Blake, Kali and Ghira (7) Journey to the center of Nowhere with Peach (8) Heads of Beef with Sun and Neptune.
Should Sun be chased and possibly be arrested by the banana people in end, or no? He is part monkey and they chased an actual monkey in the end.